This book presents 30 American cross-stitch samplers, originally made in the 18th and early 19th centuries, which are now antiques in museums and historical collections. The book gathers a treasury of rare samplers and devised charts for their recreation in modern materials. The author’s illustrated introduction to the collection offers historical and cultural insights into early American cross-stitch conventions. For each of the 30 samplers, a biography of the child who stitched the sampler, a photograph of the finished sampler and a close-up photograph of interesting features of each sampler is included.

Many of the samplers in this book are reproductions stitched on linen. Each has a brief history of who stitched it and when, a sharp color photo of the framed sampler (original or new), size, materials, directions, symbols and a black and white chart. The samplers feature assorted alphabets, verses and formal motifs. There is a page of locations of the original samplers, with addresses and phone numbers to arrange visits. Each has a note of what collection it is in. Many of the samplers are perfect as beginning projects, and others require a higher level of skill. There are 2 pages of the variety of stitches used, including: cross, eyelet, rice, star, rococo, slant, buttonhole, chain and working with a tambour hook. The motifs are quite inspirational to stitch from the charts or create individual samplers from a combination of ideas.